131 – Captain of 50
II Kings 1:1-18
After Ahab died, his son Ahaziah became king of Israel. A short time later, he broke through a wooden rail and fell to the ground from the second floor of his house. His was seriously injured, so he said to his servants. “Go ask the god Baal-zebub if I’ll recover from this.”
Elijah stopped the servants along the road and said, “There is a God in Israel. So why are you taking this question to Baal-zebub? Here is the Lord’s answer for the king. You won’t get up from your sickbed. Instead, you’re going to die.”
The servants went back and gave King Ahaziah this message. The king said, “What did the man look like who told you this?”
“He was a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.”
“Oh, I know who he is. That’s Elijah.”
So King Ahaziah sent 50 soldiers to go get Elijah. When they got to where he was staying, the prophet was sitting at the top of an embankment. The captain of the men yelled up at him. “Man of God, come down! I have orders to take you to the king.”
Elijah said, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come out of the sky and kill you and your 50 men.” Suddenly a fireball fell from the sky and killed the captain and his men.
So the king sent another 50 soldiers to get Elijah. When they got to where he was staying, the prophet was still sitting at the top of the embankment. The captain of the men yelled up at him. “Man of God, come down! I have orders to take you to the king.”
Elijah said, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come out of the sky and kill you and your 50 men.” Another fireball fell from the sky and killed the captain and his men.
Once again, the king sent 50 soldiers to go get Elijah. When they got to where he was staying, the captain of the men fell on his knees in front of Elijah. He said, “Man of God, please show compassion on us. Spare my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours.”
The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go with them. You’ll be safe.” So he got up and went with them.
When he saw King Ahaziah, he said, “This is a message from the Lord. ‘You could have asked me anything you wanted and I would have answered. But no! You sent your messengers to Baal-zebub. Therefore, you’ll not get up from your sickbed. Instead, you’ll die.”
It happened just like Elijah said. King Ahaziah died. He didn’t have children, so his brother Joram became king of Israel.
